Should have been planed down 1/8"

This past week I was working in a clients house on what had been a built-in mahogany china cabinet. Much of the cabinet had been removed and so the owner had wanted me to simply remove the remainder of the cabinet so the the space could be added to what was now a small bedroom. Once the work had been removed I needed to redo the interior of the hole in the wall with bead board. I took some measurements, cut wood for the opening up in my shop and then brought it out to the job for installation. When installing the wood I discover one of the upper left hand corners was too tight so I ended up planing down the wood an 1/8 of an inch. when I got done I remembered on of the piece of wood I removed from what was left of the old cabinet had something written on it. It said- "Should have been planed down 1/8 of an inch". Some how the carpenters that had installed the cabinet had to do some fudging somewhere to get their built-in installed. However, now that I was redoing the opening I was confronted with this 1/8" problem again.

Often, in old houses I have found myself confronted with these odds little bits of history. Sometimes is is just old newspapers, sometime old bits of clothes, or many times it is the notes of some earlier craftsman that has worked on the building. It is one of the enjoyable aspects of working on old buildings. I love the sense of history in these old building.

Einstein's Hair

My shop is truly one of the most fun aspects of having my own business. In fact I have had someone jokingly accuse me of starting my business as a pretext for buying tools and having a shop.

My shop allows my mind to run creative, it also allows me the opportunity to do custom work for clients. I have a very large inventory of customs knives for the many different pieces of trim that I have done for clients. I have always tried to match exist woodwork when doing new projects in existing houses. It allows the new but ties it aesthetically to what is already there.

I have also made many kitchen cabinets, furniture, and been able to repair existing doors and windows in the comfort of my own shop. But, I have also used is for play. Enjoyment of working with wood was always one of my main reasons for starting my business. I have enjoyed doing wood turning such as making wooden bowls, I have carved wooden spoons, and even done some traditional chair making.

At this point however, you are most likely thinking that all of this is good but what does that have to do with my blog title? Well, I have nicknamed my shop Einstein's hair because with all my interests sometime my shop looks like Einstein's hair. It can have a wild unkempt appearance with many projects lying everywhere. But, it is my shop and my space so I make no apologies. It is my inspired space that allows me the opportunity to use my creative talents and offer my clients some a little extra that most contractors don't offer.